All about cyber crime

Rozana Sani
New Straits Times
05-30-2011
All about cyber crime
Byline: Rozana Sani
Edition: Main/Lifestyle
Section: Tech & U
Column: Trends

THEY are often caught in the act but prosecution of cyber criminals is difficult. ROZANA SANI finds out why and learns of a seminar to address all matters pertaining to cyber security.

The scene is all too familiar for those who watch news on regular TV... a group of policemen equipped with a warrant rush into an unnamed premises.
Caught off-guard are a group of occupants busy gambling and conducting online fraud.

The law enforcers lead at least 20 people to a van. Assisted by officers from Cybersecurity Malaysia, an agency under the purview of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti), they also confiscate computer parts, phone adaptors and other IT devices allegedly used in credit card fraud.

But more often than not, such cases do not make it to court and the public is left wondering why.

According to CyberSecurity Malaysia's Government & Multilateral Engagement division vice president Mohd Shamir Hashim, the main problem lies in the discrepancy between the technical and legal areas in handling cyber crime cases.

"The legal and technical fields are worlds apart. Due to their nature, it is difficult for these two fields to reach a common platform. In the prosecution of cyber criminals, among the issues are admissibility of digital evidence, expert witnesses, anonymity and extra territorial jurisdiction."

Mohd Shamir says technical aspects of cyber cases that have a major impact on the legal aspect include gathering of real-time evidence and computer forensics.

Cyber security technical specialists may not understand the legal issues arising from the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime. "Likewise, the legal fraternity may not truly appreciate the intricacies in extracting evidence on the technical side," he points out.

To address this issue, the Attorney General's Chambers in collaboration with CyberSecurity Malaysia, is organising a three- day seminar in July titled Bridging Barriers: Legal And Technical Of Cybercrime Cases.

Designed to allow maximum interaction between the participants and the experts, it will be a gathering of local and international speakers and panellists who are experts in the legal and technical areas of cyber security and cyber crime.

"The topics lined up will encourage the sharing of real occurrences and experiences encountered or faced by the speakers in handling cyber cases, and the solutions they apply to overcome such hurdles.

"During the discussions, participants can probe further on issues presented or raise their own issues as discussion points. Such interactions will provide avenues for all parties to learn from each other and to discover new ways of handling cyber crime cases," adds Mohd Shamir.

"In general, we feel that the security and safety of the Malaysian cyberspace is at par, if not better than those of some developed countries. This is because the government has embarked on comprehensive cyber security initiatives with the implementation of the National Cyber Security Policy, since 2007.

"At the same time, CyberSecurity Malaysia is always on the alert to ensure our cyber space is protected."

He says CyberSecurity Malaysia maintains close relationships with similar organisations across the globe to keep abreast with the latest development in cyber space-related activities.

"However, based on the statistics by this agency, cases are increasing every year. It is anticipated that cyber incidents will continue to increase due to the increase in broadband penetration, Internet expansion such as the usage of Wi-Fi in suburban areas, increase in public access to cyberspace, improvement in technology such as hacking tools and high profitability from cyber crimes and the lack of prosecution."

Many issues from the legal and technical perspectives will be discussed at the seminar, from the speakers' experiences.

The event is targeting a wide group of participants such as legal and technical officers involved in cyber crime investigation prosecutors involved in cyber crimes investigation), and policy makers, IT officers, industry analysts, research scientists and academicians.

Among the speakers and presenters are representatives from the Department of Justice (USA), The Office of Anti-terrorism Assistance (ATA), Department of State (USA), The Australian Federal Police, Cyber Crime Investigation Division, Cyber Crime Security Department, Ministry of Public Security, Facebook, Royal Malaysian Police, The Australian Federal Police, Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, and Bank Negara Malaysia.

Details at www.agcsm.my.

(Copyright 2011)